Days of youth where have you gone
I can see you in the distance there
past the moon beyond the sun
laughing freely without a care

How quickly life can pass us by
its seems like only yesterday
I'll never know the reasons why
you had to leave you couldn't stay

I saw through my child's eye
perfection without a doubt
then you left with no goodbye
left me tears a drought

My child's heart it quickly grew
nothing would be the same
you left me with my life askew
I have only you to blame

Trust is now so hard to find
I can't help but resisting
it's always you who comes to mind
it's always you I'm missing

A child's love so blind and true
so quickly it can change
into a woman's cold and blue
I find it all so strange

I wonder if you think of me
if I ever come to mind
how I'd rest upon your knee
and love with eyes so blind

I'll never know the reasons why
and maybe it's for the best
I'm going to have to say goodbye
and leave your memory to rest

This is a poem written by my friend John

What have you learned?
Who taught you?
Who is this stable man?
Who is that lacking fraud?
Undeniable doubt he is the cause.
Do you ever question?
Does your mind wander?
Does it burn in rage for something you cannot change?
Fear it and love it.
Forget it but question it.



John Bates

great poem from Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882)
The Fire of Drift-Wood

We sat within the farm-house old,
Whose windows, looking o'er the bay,
Gave to the sea-breeze damp and cold,
An easy entrance, night and day.

Not far away we saw the port,
The strange, old-fashioned, silent town,
The lighthouse, the dismantled fort,
The wooden houses, quaint and brown.

We sat and talked until the night,
Descending, filled the little room;
Our faces faded from the sight,
Our voices only broke the gloom.

We spake of many a vanished scene,
Of what we once had thought and said,
Of what had been, and might have been,
And who was changed, and who was dead;
And all that fills the hearts of friends,
When first they feel, with secret pain,
Their lives thenceforth have separate ends,
And never can be one again;
The first slight swerving of the heart,
That words are powerless to express,
And leave it still unsaid in part,
Or say it in too great excess.

The very tones in which we spake
Had something strange, I could but mark;
The leaves of memory seemed to make
A mournful rustling in the dark.

Oft died the words upon our lips,
As suddenly,
from out the fireBuilt of the wreck of stranded ships,
The flames would leap and then expire.
And, as their splendor flashed and failed,
We thought of wrecks upon the main,Of ships dismasted, that were hailed
And sent no answer back again.

The windows, rattling in their frames,
The ocean, roaring up the beach,
The gusty blast, the bickering flames,
All mingled vaguely in our speech;
Until they made themselves a part Of fancies floating through the brain,
The longlost ventures of the heart,
That send no answers back again.

O flames that glowed!
O hearts that yearned!
They were indeed too much akin,
The drift-wood fire without that burned,
The thoughts that burned and glowed within

NIGHTLY FLIGHT

Take me away just for the night,
and have me home by dawns first light.
For just this once I'd like to see,
the place you roam since you left me.
Hold my hand and take me away,
we must make it quick for I can not stay.

Beyond the sea and beyond the sky,
above the clouds I long to fly.
I wish to see the ones I love,
who've been looking down from up above.
I want to hear the angels sing in choir,
and pass the Cherubims sword of fire.

Whats it like I wish to know,
do flowers bloom and rivers flow?
Does laughter echo throughout the land?
I'd like to know please take my hand.
I want to see those pearly gates,
and watch the angels dance with fate.

It is just a dream and this I know,
it is not my time I cannot go.
To see such beauty along the way,
I would not leave I'd want to stay.
So meet me in my dreams tonight,
and join me for a heavenly flight.

Paper I wrote for my english class

A day with Colin is similar to riding a roller coaster; your emotions are constantly up and down. Starting with waking up in the middle of the night to battling over breakfast, trying to get out the door on time and seeking out well needed quiet time at the end of the day. Colin is my two year old son and although none of you will deal with him personally this guide may help you when it comes time to face the “terrible twos” with your own child. There are four steps I use on a daily basis to keep myself from becoming over stressed. Dealing with children may seem like a walk in the park but it takes a lot of patience, time, and a great sense of humor. Although at times encountering a two year old can be a strain on the emotions the good times far out weigh the bad.
My day usually kicks off at three o’clock in the morning from the sound of a high pitched whiney little voice demanding “GO!”. In the language of Colin “go” really mean “Mom I would like you to please get up and make me a bottle so I can fall back to sleep”. Reluctantly I get out of bed and stumble to the fridge, pull out the milk, pour the bottle, and stick it in the microwave for forty seconds exactly. When I return to the room and give him his bottle he happily slurps his way back asleep. I, on the other hand, usually find it hard to fall back asleep. This is where my step one comes in handy. Find a way to relax yourself back to sleep. I breathe deeply through my nose; hold the breath for a few seconds than exhale out my mouth. This expands my lungs and allows me to relax. Also, to keep my mind from turning on all the things I have to get done that day I repeat “breath in and breath out” with each breath. Soon I find myself fast asleep again.
The next stage of my day begins three short hours later to the sound of my ringing alarm clock. At this sound I roll out of bed and quickly try to get my daily shower in before Colin awakes. Once he does wake up the first thing he wants is a bottle of milk. I have found that if you have the bottle ready ahead of time and somewhere he can reach it immediately you may save yourself the headache of a early morning tantrum. Once his early morning sleepiness wears off and his energy has kicked in it is a lot of entertainment. Usually the first thing he will do is his favorite past time, he does this often and with increased enthusiasm. Carefully he will climb onto his Mickey Mouse motor cycle, which currently does not work, and strum his super cool red guitar. While playing his automated music and riding his hog he yells “Ruc n Rul, Ruc n Rul”. In Colin language that means rock and roll. Often this chant is accompanied by some really cool dancing and head banging. Times like these are my favorites I can’t help but smile and remember how boring my mornings where before I had him. After some play time I head into the kitchen to make my little guy some breakfast. I do this knowing that he will not eat anything I make, he will throw it on the ground and it will become one more thing for me to clean up. I am continuously trying new breakfast items hoping that something might catch his attention. Knowing my son really needs to eat breakfast and also knowing he won’t eat anything I make him is where my since of humor comes into play. I have to laugh at the situation because if I dwelled on it I would probably get extremely frustrated and stressed out. Step two is to be patient and creative, don’t give up eventually you will find something that works. Needless to say most mornings my son does not intake any breakfast and I have a whole lot of dishes to do. At times like these I remind myself that strong qualities like knowing what you want and not settling for less are great qualities that will make him a good man some day.
Trying to get to school in the morning is a battle of patience every day. Somehow it’s as though my son knows when it’s precisely five minutes to out the door. At this time while I am running around trying to make sure I’m not forgetting anything, he is running around taking off his shoes and putting the two shoes in separate locations. As I am running around trying to find his shoes he is usually running around taking off his socks. Once I find the shoes and socks and make an attempt to return them to his feet I often find him emptying out the contents of my back pack. Step three is to always stay calm, find a technique that works for you. Loosing your cool will not help you in anyway and trust me it will not make your child cooperate. At this point I usually have to stop and count to ten, which I find very helpful, and then I continue on my mission to right all of his wrongs. Once we are out the door, in the car and driving down the road he always makes me smile by jamming out in the back seat to whatever is on the radio. It doesn’t matter if it’s a commercial, if it has music Colin will dance and sing. This always makes me smile, laugh and beam with pride. Being a big music buff myself I appreciate his enthusiasm.
After a long day of work and school Colin and I come home to enjoy a relaxing evening. This usually consists of more Rock and Roll motor cycle riding, lots of cars and trucks, and a book or two. As the evening grows later I take Colin in for a bath where he splashes around and practices his swimming. Once pajamas are on I settle onto the couch for some much needed down time. If I am watching a show on T.V that I really like or if the show is at a part that is vital to the plot this is usually when my son will come running out of his room with his popper. For those of you who are not familiar with the popper toy, it is a push toy that makes a really loud popping sound when in motion pop, pop, pop… Step four is to keep a sense of humor and never take yourself too seriously. I try to record my shows so that I can re-watch them once he is asleep. At two years old the chances of your child respecting your need for quiet time is non existent. Once Colin is asleep, a moment I wait for throughout the evening, I find myself missing his theatrics and wishing he was awake again.
Living with a two year old is one of the greatest experiences in the world but at the same time can be one of the most stressful. It takes time, patience, and a great sense of humor. When you find yourself losing your cool please remember these four steps; Find a relaxation technique, be patient and creative, find a way to stay calm, and last but most importantly keep a sense of humor and don’t allow yourself to be too serious. Kids will be kids and their never perfect but they are always a gift to treasure.

This is a cause and effect paper I wrote for my history class

World War I brought with it about 11,016,000 casualties and 2,091.3 billion dollars spent for the United States. At the end of WWI Germany was fully expecting Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Point Plan to be put into action. This plan deemed “Peace with out Victors”, stating that there would be no punishment for Germany. On June 28, 1919 the Versailles Peace Treaty was signed. The treaty came as a surprise to the Germans forcing them to take full responsibility for starting the war, causing them to pay the cost of the war amounting to 132 billion marks leaving the country in debt and poverty, and implementing many military and territorial restrictions. The German High Command feared that the country would blame them for loosing the war. To avoid this they created the “Stab in the Back Myth”, announcing to Germany that they were right on the brink of winning the war when the cowardly communist, socialist, and Jews out of Berlin stabbed them in the back causing them to loose the war. They proclaimed throughout Germany that they had been betrayed by the enemies at home. This theory had become very popular among many Germans who couldn’t accept defeat.
One German soldier lay in a hospital bed recovering from temporary blindness caused by a British chlorine gas attack when the war ended became obsessed with this theory. Hitler described his reaction in Mein Kampf: "There followed terrible days and even worse nights - I knew that all was lost...in these nights hatred grew in me, hatred for those responsible for this deed" (History Place.com). This was the beginning of a terrible chain of events as we all know this soldier who was left wounded and feeling betrayed gained power and left a trail of death, chaos, fear, and demolition in his path. Ultimately this reaction set us on a path to the Second World War
Adolf Hitler along with many other Germans wanted to see their nation throw off the “shackles” of the treaty and once again take its place in the world-the “rebirth” of Germany through a strong nationalist government, (history place.com). Germany was a nation in political and social chaos. In the year 1919 Adolf Hitler became the leader of the ‘Nazi Party’ a few years later on August 2, 1934 Hitler was made “Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor” putting him in the top spot. In the years to come Hitler spoke out endlessly against the treaty and gained much support. One short year later Hitler put his rage and racism in effect by passing the Nuremberg law. This law stated that Jews were no longer considered German Citizens and therefore had no legal rights. This was just the beginning Hitler’s hate crimes. Adolf Hitler formed a strong alliance with another Fascist leader, Mussolini. Hitler began to march his army into surrounding areas taking over power and leaving a trail of death and misery behind him. Hitler invaded Austria, provinces of Bohemia and Moravia but it wasn’t until he invaded Poland that World War Two began. During the war he invaded Yugoslavia and all of Western Europe forcing France to surrender.
During Hitler’s rule many people suffered and died. He was a hateful man with a mission to take over the world and to create a perfect race. Although the Jewish suffered gravely from Hitler’s hatred they were not the only ones to perish at his command. One half million Gypsies, 250,000 mentally and physically disabled persons and more than three million prisoners of war were slaughtered by the Nazis. Few were safe from Hitler’s hand. Other “undesirables” who were victims of his hatred included Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, social democrats, communists, partisans, trade unionists and Polish intelligentsia. No one was safe there was no mercy for Hitler and his Nazis truly believed they were riding the world of “pigs” less then human beings. The amount of murder’s committed by Hitler and his army is deplorable but none more in my eyes than the murder of children. The number of children killed during the Holocaust is unfathomable and the exact statistics will never be known. Estimates range about 1.5 million slaughtered children. This number includes about 1.2 million Jewish children, tens of thousands of Gypsy children, and thousands of institutionalized handicapped children were murdered under Nazi rule.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 the United States and Britain declared war on the Japanese, three days later Germany under the rule of Hitler, declared war on the United States. At the time the United States ranked 18th in the world concerning military strength and Germany held strong at number one. At the time the United States entered the war reluctantly as the underdog. World War II is by far the bloodiest war ever fought to date. An astounding 52,199,262 death occurred during this war and 2,091.3 billion dollars was spent funding it, blowing the First World War out of the water. After a failed assassination attempt in 1945 Adolf Hitler shot himself ending his life. Shortly after his death Germany surrendered to the Allies. Four months later the war ended and the Allies prevailed as the victors.
The signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty followed by the “Stab in the Back Theory” was inspiration for Hitler and began a chain of events ultimately leading us into World II. It is in my opinion that if these events had not taken place and if Wilson’s “War without Victors” had been instituted that the Second World War could have been completely avoided. It was the lies that the German High Command told its people, the lie that Hitler took to heart which was the onset of all the hatred and need for revenge. Six million lives were taken during this war for the United States alone, chaos and fear spread like disease. Could it all have been avoided? I guess we’ll never know. One thing we do know is that Hitler’s hatred and racism reigned down injustice on the innocent and caused turmoil wherever he chose.

Life Expained

My brother E mailed me with this story and I really enjoyed it so I will post it for you.

On the first day, God created the dog and said:"Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyoneWho comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a lifeSpan of twenty years."The dog said: "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?"So God agreed.On the second day, God created the monkey and said:"Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."The monkey said: "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?"And God agreed.On the third day, God created the cow and said:"You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will l give you a life span of sixty years."The cow said: "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"And God agreed again.On the fourth day, God created man and said:"Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years."But man said: "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?""Okay," said God, "You asked for it."So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.Life has now been explained to you.

The intimidation that is me

As my lion and I battle the terrible twos there always seems to be some kind of power war going on between us. I have never been a push over when it comes to children. I have battled the most heartbreaking tears and still stood my ground. I've had the "I hate you", "Your only doing this because you hate me", and the "I don't love you anymore Auntie" thrown at me and still stood strong. I have always been the fun Auntie but when it came down to business my nieces and nephews always took me seriously. My son, however, doesn't take me seriously at all. Our struggles usually go something like this: Baby come here-no response- Come here-no response- (a little firmer )COME HERE-this will get me a nonchalant glance-( in my best mommy voice- COME HERE RIGHT NOW- at this point I will receive a little grin- at this point my mother usually says while laughing " I wish you wouldn't scare him like that". We could go on like this forever, usually I end going over to him and picking him up. He also runs from me and laughs, it's a game for him. Going up against a lion is more work then I thought it would be. The tricks and tactics that worked beautifully on his cousins don't phase him in the least. He is far more power hungry. He has to be in charge. As any parent knows this can not happen or else I'm doomed for life. So I suppose at this point I have to put my thinking cap on and come up with a new game plan. I will have to toss all of my old plays out the window and come up with a new strategy to gain the upper hand. It's time to pull on the gloves and go to battle.

Irish toast of the day

"Some may say the glass is half empty, Some may say the glass is half full, But the Irish will forever say 'Are you gonna drink that?'.

mommy ego

So I will proudly admit that my little lion is a mommas boy (he's 16 months). Although at times it can be frustrating to have him hanging on me all the time ultimately it's wonderful to know that he loves me so much. As I wrote in a previous post my little guy started daycare again and I was concerned that he was going to have problems separating. When we got to the daycare today I was frantically pulling his coat off as he sped off to play. He never even looked back, there was no bye mom sorry to see you go.(tear) He was off and running, a busy boy with things to do. A slam to my mommy ego, my little boy is growing up. I am so glad that he loves his daycare and that he has lots of friends but it appears that now I am the one with the separation anxiety. I think the hardest part of being a parent is having to let go, watching your child become less and less dependant on you. I can already see him growing into a little boy, no longer my baby. Each developmental step a child takes is ultimately a step away from you in a way. Great for them, kinda sad for you. At the same time we are rejoicing our child's accomplishment we are secretly morning the inevitable, they will one day grow up and not need us to kiss their hurts better or tie their shoes. All we can so is hold on tight to every moment and never ever take it for granted. Today daycare, tomorrow college.

Irish Blessing

"May the Lord keep you in his hand
And never close his fist too tight."

Irish Blessing

May your day be filled with blessings
Like the sun that lights the sky,
And may you always have the courage
To spread your wings and fly!

Irish Blessing

May your day be filled with blessings
Like the sun that lights the sky,
And may you always have the courage
To spread your wings and fly!

Back to School!!

School starts back up tomorrow. The break has been nice but I'm afraid it has spoiled me. Although I am looking forward to returning it is going to be hard for me to give up the free time I've become so accustom to these past few weeks. I'm curious to see how my lion will react to returning to daycare. I hope he is happy to return and we don't have to go through the separation anxiety again. He loved daycare before but it took a while before he was comfortable enough to let me go without a fight. I'm sure he will probably be glad to get out of the house and see his friends again as am I. I still have to go pick up my books, leave it to me to wait until the last minute. Tonight it's back to packing lunches and setting the alarm.

Irish toast of the day

"Here's to you and here's to me and if ever we should disagree.

The hell with you and here's to Me."

Irish toast of the day

" As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way."

The ABC Song

For Christmas Santa brought my little lion a lap top computer (not a real one). It is supposed to help him learn his ABC's, sounds, numbers etc. He likes to use it as a step stool. The computer did come with a instruction booklet that has a picture of the computer along with letters on the cover. The other night while my son was playing with the instruction booklet (figures) my mother was singing the ABC's with him. The sweetest thing I have ever seen was my mother singing" abcdefg" and my son while clinging to his instruction booklet sang "Ah ah ah ah ah" in the tone of hijklmnop. Here's the catch my little lion will only sing the ABC song with you if he has his booklet. I have tried many times to get him to sing without it and he will not do it. I guess every great artist prefers to have his muse.

Irish toast of the day

My great Aunt sent a book she put together with some information linking the present family to our Irish ansestors. The book has tid bits of information about the Irish and specific information about my ansestors. It has been a great read. Along with other things there are also a few pages dedicated to Irish toasts, blessings, and proverbs. I have really injoyed them so I will share them with you. Even if you are not Irish you will be able to find the humor, sincerity, and love in the words. I hope you enjoy.

" When Irish eyes are smiling, watch your step!"

If you liked this toast check back I'll be posting them daily. At least until I run out.

The Fork Mystery

So for a while now my little lion has been working on using a fork. He is really very talented and creative when doing so. I spend the majority of my dinner watching in amusement as he uses his fork to play the drums on the tray of his chair, brush his hair, and as a dart ( you never know where it's going to land once he lets it fly). Now, I know that he knows what the fork is for because I have showed him a multitude of times. Also at dinner tonight he would scoop up mashed potato's with his hand, shove it in his mouth( and all over his face) then proceed to put the empty fork in his mouth. I wonder when this will pass. I can't help but find it too adorable to resist I am however going to have to break this behavior. Along with strange uses for his table utensils he also lets me know that he is done with his meal by throwing whatever food is left over the side of his chair. This is a very messy announcement. We are working on using words but he seems to be content with his obvious methods of communication. On top of that if I do not remove the tray fast enough to please him he pushes it overboard. Whoever made the highchair and the "lock in" tray had not met my son the powerhouse. By the way my son is a big boy for his age. Who knew that a meal could be so amusing?

The Lion??

So you are probably wondering who the Lion in my life is. He is my amazing son who I love, adore, and am eternally grateful for. My Lion was born in August of 2005 his zodiac sign is Leo (the lion). While I was pregnant I did a ton of reading on the Leo child and my Lion has definitely fit perfectly into the role of a leo. Since the day he was born it has been fairly obvious who the king of my house is. It's amazing to me how such a little thing came packing one hell of a personality. He is always the center of attention and he wouldn't have it any other way. Even though he is not speaking enough to fully communicate he has no problem expressing what he wants and the fact that he wants it right now. Now that he is getting older it is becoming a challenge for me to express to him that he can't always have his way. His little feelings get hurt so easily and it breaks my heart when they do. Still it is a lesson that must be learned. Being an only child and living with his mother and grandmother my lion gets plenty of attention, so much actually that if we are not fully paying homage to him he will stand right in front of us and clap his hands (looking for an applause). If the applause does not fully meet his need for attention he will pull on my hand until I get up and then he will lead me where ever it is he wants to go. Most of the time I end up standing in front of the T.V ( a few feet away from where I was content on the couch) holding his hand. All in a days work serving my little lion.

The Leo Child
A typical lion cub, this child will be happy and cheerful as long as he gets his way. A little too full of himself, he will attack if he feels thwarted or his position is threatened. Although you should encourage his natural leadership qualities, you must also appeal to his sense of justice and fair play, otherwise he will turn into a show-off.
Blessed with an innate sense of dignity, they thrive on power and applause and need to be adored. Or should it be worshipped! But do not let him get away with making demands. Teach him to respect the dignity of others too.
On the brighter side, these youngsters are playful, affectionate and a lot of fun. They enjoy games of challenge and chance. Though intelligent and quick to learn, they can be a little lazy. So it is important that you inculcate discipline and good study habits and also give them responsible and dignified duties to perform.
They love indulging themselves and spend lavishly. Not only do they like spending on themselves, they can also be very generous. These little charmers also fall in and out of love easily, so you are for a tough adolescent phase. As a fire sign, their passions run hot, hot, hot!
You need to provide them gentle discipline and lots of love and affection. Do not ever destroy his pride with harsh orders. Always remember that you are the lion tamer. Build his courage and confidence with love instead.